Principal VMS/Fly-by-Wire Systems Engineer

Job Number: P25F19

Honda is on a mission to revolutionize freedom of mobility by building the next generation of mobility ecosystems, with Honda's hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft at the core. Through this new mobility ecosystem, Honda aims to bring people the joy of expanding their life's potential.

San Luis Obispo, CA

The Principal VMS/Fly-by-Wire (FBW) Systems Engineer will lead the architecture, requirements, supplier development, integration, verification, and certification readiness of the safety-critical FBW system within Honda's Vehicle Management System (VMS). The role covers flight-control computers, sensors, actuator-control electronics, flight-control actuation, control-law integration, redundancy and fault management, and interfaces with avionics, hybrid-electric propulsion, electrical power, and other aircraft systems.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring model-based development of FBW logic, system integration and testing, and Python-based test automation. Reporting to the VMS Director, the engineer will serve as the onsite technical focal point for delivering a safe, certifiable, and high-performance FBW solution for Honda's next-generation hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft.

Key Responsibilities FBW Architecture, Requirements and Interfaces

• Lead the FBW system architecture, functional decomposition, requirements allocation, design baselines, and interface-control development for prototype and type-certification aircraft.
• Define the physical and functional architecture for flight-control computers, sensors, actuator-control electronics, flight-control actuation, communication networks, and power interfaces.
• Define redundancy, fault-containment, synchronization, cross-channel monitoring, command-selection/voting, health-monitoring, reversionary-mode, and degraded-operation requirements.
• Manage FBW interfaces with control laws, avionics, hybrid-electric propulsion, electrical power, safety, flight-test, and other aircraft systems.

System Design and Supplier Technical Execution

• Develop and integrate FBW control laws, mode/state logic, monitors, protections, actuator limits, and failure-management functions using model-based development methods and MATLAB/Simulink/Stateflow.
• Serve as the technical lead for supplier selection and execution for flight-control computers, remote electronics/actuator-control electronics, sensors, and actuation equipment.
• Lead supplier requirements reviews, architecture and design reviews, deliverable acceptance, configuration-change evaluation, technical-risk management, and issue closure.
• Ensure system performance, determinism, latency, robustness, environmental qualification, maintainability, and integration readiness meet aircraft-level objectives

Integration, Verification, Safety and Certification

• Define and lead FBW integration and requirements-based system testing across model-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, processor-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, laboratory, aircraft ground-test, and flight-test environments, including pass/fail criteria and failure-injection scenarios.
• Develop and maintain Python-based automation for test stimulus generation, execution, data acquisition and analysis, regression testing, results reporting, and toolchain integration.
• Support FHA, PSSA, SSA, FTA, FMEA, common-cause analyses, Development Assurance Level allocation, and verification of derived safety requirements.
• Support certification planning and evidence, software and airborne electronic hardware SOI readiness, environmental qualification, conformity, and system review packages.

Technical Leadership and Program Coordination

• Act as the onsite FBW technical focal point for architecture decisions, issue resolution, cross-functional dependencies, supplier coordination, and schedule/risk alignment.
• Mentor engineers, facilitate technical trade studies, communicate status and risks to leadership, and support SRR, PDR, CDR, test-readiness, and certification reviews.

Minimum Qualifications & Minimum Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Master's degree in a relevant technical or engineering-management discipline is preferred.
• Twelve or more years of aerospace flight-control, FBW, VMS, or other safety-critical aircraft-systems development experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading FBW architecture, requirements, integration, verification, and certification activities from concept through ground and flight test.
• Experience with redundant flight-control computers, sensors, actuator-control electronics, electro-mechanical actuation, real-time networks, and system suppliers.
• Hands-on experience developing and integrating FBW logic using model-based development and executing system testing across MIL, SIL, PIL, and HIL environments.
• Experience with eVTOL, powered-lift, rotorcraft, hybrid-electric aircraft, or other highly integrated aircraft is preferred.

Bonus Qualifications Certification Knowledge and Experience:

• Expertise in VMS, FBW architecture, requirements decomposition, functional allocation, interface definition, system integration, system safety, and requirements-based testing.
• Strong understanding of flight-control computers, control-law integration, actuation systems, redundancy management, real-time embedded systems, and failure management.
• Experience with aircraft communication protocols and networks such as ARINC 429, CAN, RS-485, Ethernet, AFDX, or Time-Triggered Ethernet.
• Hands-on proficiency with MATLAB/Simulink/Stateflow for model-based development of FBW logic, executable-model simulation, model reviews, requirements traceability, and DO-331-aligned workflows.
• Proficiency in Python for automated test execution, stimulus generation, data acquisition and reduction, regression analysis, reporting, and integration with laboratory test environments.
• Experience with MBSE, requirements-management, configuration-management, problem-reporting, and collaboration tools is preferred.
• Strong supplier-management, technical-leadership, troubleshooting, communication, mentoring, and decision-making skills.

Job-Specific Technical Skills

• Expertise in FBW systems architecture, integration, safety, verification, and certification.
• Strong knowledge of flight-control computers, control laws, actuation, redundancy, embedded systems, and fault management.
• Experience with ARINC 429, CAN, Ethernet, AFDX, TTE, and related aerospace networks.
• Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink/Stateflow and Python for model-based development, verification, and test automation.
• Familiarity with MBSE, requirements, configuration, and issue-management tools.
• Proven technical leadership, supplier management, mentoring, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Desired Start Date 10/1/2026 Position Keywords Fly-by-Wire (FBW), Flight Controls, Vehicle Management System (VMS), Model-Based Development (MBD), MATLAB, Simulink, Stateflow, Control-Law Integration, Flight-Control Computers, Actuation Systems, System Architecture, Systems Engineering, Requirements Development, System Integration, System Testing, Test Automation, Python, MIL, SIL, PIL, HIL, Requirements-Based Verification, Fault Injection, Redundancy Management, Fault Detection and Isolation, Safety-Critical Systems, eVTOL, Powered-Lift, Hybrid-Electric Aircraft, Supplier Technical Management, ARP4754A/B, ARP4761/ARP4761A, DO-178C, DO-331, DO-254, DO-160, FAA Certification, Flight Test, MBSE, ARINC 429, CAN, Ethernet, AFDX, Time-Triggered Ethernet.